The political status of Kosovo, also known as the Kosovo question, is the subject of a long-running political and territorial dispute between the Serbian (and previously, Yugoslav) government and the Government of Kosovo, stemming from the breakup of Yugoslavia (1991–92) and the ensuing Kosovo War (1998–99). In 1999, the administration of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija was handed on an interim basis to the United Nations under the terms of UNSCR 1244, which ended the Kosovo conflict of that year. That resolution reaffirmed Serbia's territorial integrity over Kosovo but required the UN administration to promote the establishment of 'substantial autonomy and self-government' for Kosovo, pending a 'final settlement' for negotiation between the parties.
The UN-sponsored talks began in February 2006, and though no agreement was reached between the parties, a proposal from UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari was presented in May 2007, which recommended 'supervised independence' for the province. After several weeks of discussions at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom, and other European members of the United Nations Security Council formally 'discarded' a draft resolution backing the Ahtisaari Plan on 20 July 2007, as they had failed to secure Russian backing.
